The Dragon Queen
by Be-Always-Oblivious
Summary: Paarthunax had told her that dragons were built for conquest and domination. Signe supposed he was right and since she had the soul of a dragon then conquest must be in her too.


When Alduin dies, there was much rejoicing for both dragons and mortals alike. The prophecy had been prevented and Tamriel would live to see yet another day.

Signe, was in equal parts proud and exhausted. She would have liked nothing more than to return to Jorrvaskr and some semblance of normality. She had done her duty and now she wanted rest.

She should have known that things would never return to normal. From the day when she had escaped Helgen, the first time she had slew a dragon and released her Thu'um on the world, she should have known that nothing would ever be the same again.

It seemed destiny was not entirely done with her yet.

* * *

Signe wasn't surprised to hear that skirmishes between the Stormcloaks and Imperials had broken out again in earnest with the death of Alduin. She was not surprised at all but she was disheartened. It seemed that the peace summit on High Hrothgar was all for nought in the end.

Two messengers arrived at Jorrvaskr within a week of each other. One came from Solitude and the other from Windhelm.

Ulfric Stormcloak wanted her aid in ridding Skyrim of the Empire's influence, he wanted the Dragonborn to fight for him and her homeland. General Tulius wanted her to fight against the Stormcloaks and put down the rebels once and for all.

Signe sent them both away and retreated to Kodlak-her quarters to think.

In truth, she supported neither. Of course she wanted her homeland to be free of war and at times Ulfric's cause seemed to call to her. She knew her father would have supported an independent Skyrim and she couldn't help but dream of the same. The Empire, the true Empire, died with the Septims centuries ago and after the Great War it was all but a shadow of itself. The Empire simply wasn't strong enough to hold all of Tamriel together as it once had.

Yet, they needed to band together. There were still dragons who remained loyal to Alduin even in death and were still attacking. How long would it be before they spread to Cyrodiil or Morrowind or High Rock? Even with the dragon threat all but neutralised there was still one shadow which loomed larger than all of them combined.

The Thalmor.

Tulius and Ulfric were so preoccupied with each other that they had blinded themselves to the true threat. The elves were left to do as they pleased and how long would it be before they struck a second time? It was folly to believe that they weren't planning something. She had enough dealings with the elves to know they were not done yet.

The Aldmeri Dominion were going to strike again. Sooner or later they would descend on them. The Great War had only been a taste of what the elves could do and the White-Gold Concordat had only delayed their plans.

Gods help them all when they did come.

In the end, she sent both messengers back with a stern response.

_Fight your war to your heart's content but I won't be responsible for the innocent blood spilled to end this madness. If you truly wanted peace then you should have kept to the agreements we made in High Hrothgar._

_I will hear no more of this and the next messenger sent won't be returning to you intact._

* * *

The Companions thrived. The renegade dragons were giving them a steady flow of gold and Jorrvaskr was never more full. Warriors both seasoned and looking to prove themselves flocked to Whiterun when the word spread that the Dragonborn herself was now Harbinger.

Signe didn't know whether to be flattered or concerned by these events.

Mornings were spent honing her skills in the training yard. There was always room for a warrior to improve their skill, in her mind. Farkas and Vilkas were equally happy to spar against her and tease her for her preference of a sword and shield instead of a great-sword like they used. Nothing gave her greater pleasure than knocking them on their asses and claiming victory.

Then usually she would ride out to do some job, usually a dragon that had decided to attack a farm or giants who had gotten to close for comfort. Something along those lines, she left the escaped criminals and wild animals to the new bloods, they could certainly use it more than she, Aela, Vilkas or Farkas could.

Then they would return triumphant and feast.

The mead hall was never quiet, there was always laughter and stories to be heard. She often found herself being propositioned for tales of her duel with the World Eater. Some wanted to know if it was really true that she had gone to Sovngarde and laid eyes on the great heroes. She never said yes or no to those questions and refused to tell of anything to do with Sovngarde. It was personal and she preferred to keep it that way.

The only ones who seem to understand her silence on the matter are her fellow members of the Circle. She is glad to have them, she wouldn't know what to do without any of them.

Aela and Vilkas were tough but fair with her. She could count on them to tell her if they thought she was making a mistake. They didn't let her being Harbinger or Dragonborn stop them from telling her what she needed to hear.

Life was good.

Then everything went wrong, as Signe knew it would.

* * *

When Ulfric Stormcloak was attacked in his palace in Windhelm, all of Skyrim held its breath. He wasn't killed but he was gravely injured, some whispered that his life hung in the balance. His second-in-command wasn't so lucky and died from wounds he got protecting his Jarl.

No one said but everyone knew. It was the work of an assassin, highly trained and especially brutal. It would take nothing else to infiltrate Windhelm and attack the Jarl in his own home. Yet, what set people panicking most was the fact that the Dark Brotherhood were not claiming responsibility, in fact, they denied all knowledge of such an attack.

Chaos erupted faster than anyone expected. Rumours said that the entire Stormcloak army were amassing in Windhelm and preparing to march on Solitude in retribution. The Imperial soldiers were supposedly gathering in Solitude to march on Windhelm and finish was the assassin had started and protect both Elisif and the Imperial Legion from the Stormcloaks' wrath.

Skirmishes broke out all over the province, farms were being burned, mills destroyed and villages ransacked all in the name of revenge.

Signe stayed in Whiterun and watched as the city soon became flooded with people wanting to escape the madness that had risen up. Jarl Balgruuf was the only Jarl who hadn't declared for one side or the other, even as the fighting grew more and more intense, and so it was to his city that refugees flocked.

"It's only going to get worse." She told Vilkas one morning as they stood on the steps of Jorrvakr.

Below them had assembled all the men, women and children, all huddled with makeshift tents and bedrolls around the Gildergreen. The Wind District had become the home of the refugees and there were more arriving every day. The only thing that hadn't changed in the recent weeks was Heimskr's irritating preaching in front of the shrine of Talos.

"Aye." He nodded "It'll get worse and it'll keep getting worse. Either Ulfric will die and the Stormcloaks will be uncontrollable or he'll live and then he'll march on Solitude and then every other hold loyal to the Legion until he has his revenge."

"And the Thalmor will kill us all either way." Signe finished.

Something had to be done. If not now then sometime soon or else there would have been no point to saving Skyrim only to see it burn.

* * *

In the end, they didn't have to wait to see if Ulfric would survive or not before the elves struck. Word reached Whiterun swiftly that the armies of the Dominion were coming from the south and had taken Falkreath.

Jarl Siddgeir arrived in Whiterun only two days after the messenger boiling in anger. His hold was now in the control of the Aldermeri Dominion, his people were slaughtered and some of his best advisors had also fell. To make things worse, the Imperials had done nothing to help him or his people, they were too preoccupied with protecting Solitude from Stormcloaks and the Dominion's strike had taken them by complete surprise.

Soon Signe was called to Dragonsreach both as the Harbinger of the Companions (and thus leader of the greatest fighters in Skyrim) and as the Dragonborn. Now was the time to decide what to do as the Dominion marched east to take the Rift and Riften.

"This will not go unanswered for!" Jarl Siddgeir seethed, slamming his fist down on the table "The Legion will feel my wrath on their heads for this!"

"The Legion are otherwise preoccupied and it wasn't as if they predicted this would happen." Jarl Balgruuf returned "We need to protect what is left of your lands and rally the other Jarls to fight the Dominion before they take any more land."

"I could ride out with some of your men and some of the Companions. We could at least try and stall the Dominion if anything else." Signe suggested.

"That seems a tad reckless. We have no idea how large the armies are. You may be the Dragonborn but I doubt you and only a handful of warriors could fend off an army."

"It's better than letting Riften fend for itself." She said, she doubted the city would fare well. Riften's walls could hold off an army for a while but eventually it would fall. "We could at least send a few men to scope out. See how many we're dealing with whilst we try and rally the other Jarls to our cause."

"That seems like the better option." Balgruuf mused "No use in throwing away lives on a suicide mission just yet. Riften isn't Solitude but it can withstand a siege for now. Maybe that Thieves Guild of theirs will come in useful for once. From now on we'll need to start training up the common folk, as many able-bodied men and women as we can. We're going to need an army when the time comes."

"No! The Legion will first answer for their betrayal!" Siddgeir snarled "I will mount General Tulius' head on the wall personally! He will rue the day he left Falkreath to burn beneath the boots of those elven bastards!"

"An excellent idea, my lord." Signe growled in reply, her patience all but gone with Falkreath's Jarl "And I suppose you have an army to spare for this plan of yours? Or how about weaponry to lay siege to Solitude? We don't have time for this while the Thalmor are marching towards Riften! Now sit down before you make and even greater fool of yourself."


End file.
